Stephenson picks off Goede late In the USSA Pro Star Cup final

After what was a heavy afternoon of racing Friday for some of the notable names on their Champ 440 sleds during heat races, the USSA Pro Star Cup final was one of the races of the evening when ski-to-ski racing from first to 12th led to the No. 102 of Blaine Stephenson maneuvering around No. 28 Matt Goede on the second-to-last lap and claiming victory in the 15-lap final during Friday Night Thunder.

Eagle River was the first stop for the Pro Star Cup Tour this year, where Stepheson won the same event last year during the Friday Night Thunder festivities of the 62nd World Championship Snowmobile Derby. 

Goede swept the heat races in the afternoon slate of racing, which put him as the man to beat as racing went under the lights on the Champ 440s. 

The first 11 laps of the race were smooth sailing, with Goede having nearly a full straightaway advantage from second and third place as he showcased his handling and speed. It wasn’t until lap 12 that a red flag flew, which bunched the field back together for a staggered start. Goede lined up first, with Stephenson in second and the No. 31 and No. 220 of Will Garceau and Gunnar Sterne in third and fourth on the restart with three to go. 

Goede led the 12th lap before Stephenson craftfully got around Goede with the field bunched back together. He took the white flag and came around once more to secure the checkered flag. 

Stephenson clocked his best time of 17.696, while Goede led the field of 12 with a blistering 17.299. Garceau and Sterne would finish third and fourth, as the two had best-lap times of 17.673 and 17.550, respectively. The 39x of Justin Peterson rounded out the top five. The rest of the field finished like this: sixth, No. 39 Thomas Olson; seventh, No. 27x Spencer Landry; eighth, No. 6 Gavin Peterson; ninth, No. 29 Ashten Christensen; 10th, No. 221 Reed Klinger; 11th, No. 111 Tanner Foss; 12th, No. 3 Danick Lambert.